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plates, which were 2 cm thick and looked very like our long-playing records. These stone plates had a hole in the middle from which a double-grooved incised script ran out spirally to the edge of the plate. Chinese archaeologists knew that the Dropa and Kham (Sikang) tribes had once lived in this deserted region. And anthropologists said of these mountain tribes that they had been of small stature, with an average height of only 5ft 3 ins ...' ‘It was that part of the discovery that upset all previous anthropological classifications. Scholars could not place the high, broad skulls on the tiny skeletons of the Dropa and Kham. Not with the best will in the world. When Chi Pu Tei published his theory in 1940, he met with nothing but scorn. He claimed that the Dropas and Khams must have been an extinct species of mountain ape.’ ‘Of course not. In Chi Pu Tei's view they were placed in the caves by people from a later culture. On the face of it his theory did seem rather ridiculous. Who ever heard of rows of graves made by apes?’ "What happened next? Were the finds filed away in the archives of unexplained anthropologico- archaeological cases and forgotten?’ "Very nearly! For twenty years several clever men racked their brains to solve the riddle of the stone plates. Not until 1962 was Professor Tsum Um Nui of the Academy of Prehistoric Research in Peking able to decipher parts of the incised script.’ Kassanzev became serious: "The story that was deciphered was so hair-raising that at first the Academy for Prehistoric Research forbade Tsum Um Nui to publish his work at all.' 'Tsum Um Nui is a stubborn fellow; he went on working doggedly. He could prove without any doubt that the incised script was not just a bad practical joke by some authority on prehistoric writing. For even serious scholars often show a sense of humour. Think of Piltdown Man. In cooperation with geologists he showed that the stone plates had a high cobalt and metal content. Physicists found out that all 716 plates had a high vibration rhythm, which led to the conclusion that they had been exposed to very high voltages at some time.’ Kassanzev turned off from Kropotkinskaya Quay and drove to the kerb of Volkhonka Street. The car stopped outside the Pushkin Museum. I was so entranced by his story that I wanted to hear the rest of it standing on the pavement, but Kassanzev took me by the arm and led me into the museum. We sat on a bench between tall glass cases. ‘And how did they get the big skulls?’ 'Then how did the stone plates originate? Are the apes supposed to have made them?’ "What did they say?’ "And that was that?’